Comic Riffs: June 21, 2009 - June 27, 2009

Sizing up the spate of Michael Jackson cartoons... 'JOHN DARKOW' (cagle.com) 'PATRICK CHAPPATTE' (cagle.com) 'PERAY' (cagle.com) 'PETER BROELMAN' (cagle.com) In the wake of Michael Jackson's death, more than a couple of political cartoonists struck upon the same essential idea:...

'MIKE LUCKOVICH' (Atlanta Journal Constitution) There've been cartoons of tribute (spotlights, moonwalk moves and single sequinned gloves). We've seen cartoons of snarkiness. But perhaps none has been immediately more of a visual lightning rod than Mike Luckovich's response to...

Leave it to Beeler. In the wake of the fatal Metro crash this week, the Washington Examiner's NATE BEELER drew the most poignant image I saw about the tragedy. It has just the right tone, the right feel. 'NATE...

They both seem utterly of their time, almost frozen in amber and ink. The uni-gloved, sequinned-socked, moonwalking Michael Jackson of the "Thriller" era, sparkling in Sgt. Pepper's-style jacket. And, on the funnypages, "Bloom County" -- another peaking-in-the'80s icon that...

Obama-swatted insects. Hoax instead of hope. Smartphone envy. And the global mourning over Neda. Here are five editorial cartoons that top the 'Riffs Reading List for the day -- followed by my Mark Sanford Picks o' the Day. If...

When it comes to the role of social networking amid Iran's violent post-election uproar, comic Bill Maher may have had the satiric line of the week: "Twitter didn't save Iran. Iran saved Twitter." Political cartoonists, too, have been mining...

THE MORNING LINE: Today's quickie a.m. roundup, from the sliced to the diced... 'PEARLS BEFORE SWINE' (UFS)Enlarge Image My prediction about today's "PEARLS BEFORE SWINE": Cartoonist Stephan Pastis will soon be hearing from Barry Manilow's people. Not his attorneys,...

If there's anything more fun than talking "San Diego Comic-Con" with a decades-long attendee, it's the polar opposite: A chat with a Comic-Con rookie who can only imagine what awaits. "Cul de Sac's" Richard Thompson (Courtesy of Richard Thompson)...

Today, with San Diego Comic-Con exactly one month away, Comic Riffs -- which will trek West to cover the four-day event -- officially begins its Countdown to Comic-Con. I first discovered the 'Con in the '80s, when both of...

The a.m. quickie roundup, from the yawning to the spawning... 'ZITS' (KFS)Enlarge Image A topical pun. A talking-animal gag worthy of Chuck Jones. And absolutely nothing related to adolescence. Today's "ZITS" is all but a must-read because it is...

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE (courtesy of KFS) Enlarge Comic Today, we introduce a spankin'-new Comic Riffs feature titled "Defend That 'Toon," which each week will test the reader popularity of this or that particular comic strip. First up: "Hagar the...

THE MORNING QUICKIE: The early a.m. roundup of 'toons, from the cinematic to the melodramatic... Enlarge Comic JUDGE PARKER: As the Evil Cheerleader Moms of Doom storyline continues to unnnnfold like a creaky lawn chair, there are elements of...